First, [Forbes] relied on asking prices rather than closed transactions, saying that by doing so their list would be a reflection of “each market’s current activity.” For their top zip code (10065), the median sale price found by PropertyShark is $1.1 million, while the median asking price according to Forbes data is $6.5 million. Have prices in the Upper East Side gone up 6 times since the closings of the property transactions we used in order to compile the median sale price? Not a chance!

Second, they have not included coops. How relevant are any real estate stats published for Manhattan that don’t take into account half of the borough’s transactions? Not very, and this reminds us of a similar debate on the relevancy of the Case-Schiller Index to Manhattan real estate market.

According to our data, the priciest zip code in New York City is in fact TriBeCa’s 10013 with a median sale price of $2.5 million (coops included). Number 2 on the list is 10007, another TriBeCa zip code, proving why TriBeCa has been topping the list of the most expensive neighborhoods in NYC for several quarters in a row.